MARVEL COMICS – @Marvel
[This review was originally posted on Patreon.]
STORY: Charles Soule
PENCILS: Steve McNiven
INKS: Jay Leisten
COLORS: Laura Martin
LETTERS: VC's Joe Sabino
EDITORS: Mark Paniccia and Jordan D. White
COVER: Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin
VARIANT COVER ARTISTS: John Cassaday with Laura Martin; Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten with Laura Martin; Todd Nauck with Rachelle Rosenberg; Leinil Francis Yu with Sunny Gho
40pp, Color, $4.99 U.S. (November 2018)
Parental advisory
Chapter One: “Hell”
Four years ago, Marvel Comics published Death of Wolverine. Written by Charles Soule and drawn by Steven McNiven (pencils) and Jay Leisten (inks), the four-issue miniseries saw Wolverine a.k.a. Logan die as a result of injuries and loosing his supernatural healing factor that was a result of him being a mutant. The most famous version of the Wolverine character: the one who has been a member of the mutant X-Men and the one that made his first full appearance in The Incredible Hulk #181 (after having appeared in the last panel of #180), was dead.
Now after a year of Marvel teasing, Wolverine/Logan is returning in the five-issue comic book miniseries, Return of Wolverine. The Death of Wolverine creative team of Soule, McNiven, and Leisten return for this resurrection event. Laura Martin on colors and Joe Sabino on letters complete the creative team.
Return of Wolverine #1 (“Hell”) opens. Wolverine awakens. We know who he is, but he does not know who he is. He is in some unknown location. There is a saber-tooth tiger and a mammoth in cages near him. A grievously wounded man tells Wolverine that he should be dead. A woman who wants Wolverine to find her son tells him that he is a hero. They both want Wolverine to find some organization called “Soteira” and a woman named “Persephone.” They both want him to kill and destroy the woman and her organization respectively. Still unsure of who is he or what happened or is happening, Wolverine figures, why not. What else does he have to do?
Legendary comic book writer, Alan Moore, had a lot to say about DC Comics' announcement that it would produce prequel and sequel comic books based upon his and artist Dave Gibbons' also legendary, 12-issue comic book series, Watchmen. As Moore has long disputed the contracts and rights issues between him and DC over Watchmen, he refused to participate in the eventual multi-comic book project, Before Watchmen (2012).
Moore described the comic book creators who signed on for the prequels as alternately “possibly halfway decent writers and artists” and people who don't even deserve the title of “creators.” That irked some comics folks; I seem to remember Marvel Comics writer Jason Aaron being particularly miffed. I think that Moore's comments can be accurately levied against quite a few comic book creators, past and present.
However, I think that it is not so much that comic book writers and artists are halfway decent; rather it is that they often produce halfway decent comic books, even when they are working on what is supposedly important, event comic books.
Return of Wolverine #1 is halfway decent. I would say that the majority of the comic books written by Charles Soule that I have read I have really liked. I halfway like Return of Wolverine #1, but not for the story, which. is halfway decent... No., this is a poorly written comic book. It is beneath a writer as highly-paid and as respected as Charles Soule is. I hope future issues are better.
Meanwhile, I really like Steve McNiven and Jay Leisten's gorgeous artwork and goddess colorist Laura Martin's colors over those beautiful illustrations. McNiven, Leisten, and Martin art recalls the art of Barry Windsor-Smith on the Wolverine origin story, “Weapon X,” which was originally published in Marvel Comics Presents #72 to 84 (cover dated: March to September 1991). Windsor-Smith infrequently produces comic book art; in fact, his last published comic book work may be the five-page section he drew for Wolverine #166 (cover dated: September 2001). So McNiven-Leisten-Martin's faux-Barry Windsor-Smith is the reason I will continue to read Return of Wolverine.
Thus, my grade for Return of Wolverine #1 is based on the art. If it were based only on the story, it would get a failing grade.
5 out of 10
Reviewed by Leroy Douresseaux a.k.a. "I Reads You"
The text is copyright © 2018 Leroy Douresseaux. All Rights Reserved. Contact this blog or site for syndication rights and fees.
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